Gardeners’ Corner with Derry’s Springrowth Garden Centre

But where do you start? In this new weekly feature, the ‘Journal’ visits Springrowth Garden Centre in Springtown to chat to the owner, Cyril Quinn. Cyril gives all the hints and tricks he has on how to get your garden looking the best.

This week, he talks about giving the garden a general tidy. But first, who are Springrowth Garden Centre? Cyril said: “We’ll be open six years now in April and we’ve progressed every year with things like updating the shop, getting new tree lines in and things. So, we’re building every year. We have some new suppliers this year too, we got new ceramic pots which are absolutely flying out the door. The price of diesel is pushing up the price of sand and gravel and the big lorries used to deliver it means they spend a lot more on fuel now than before. We’re not going to put our prices up, though, we’ve been trying to keep things as steady as possible. We get all our stock from Ireland, both north and south, so we don’t have as much bother with transport. We keep it local and support the local economy. It means our plants are all adjusted to the climate here too. Some people get the plants from warmer, dryer climates and spend a few days in a lorry travelling to Ireland and they aren’t very healthy when they arrive. Ours don’t have far to travel so they’re healthy when they do arrive.”

To give the garden a general tidy up, Cyril said: “A tidy up means just that - you tidy up. Most people will have already given the lawn its first cut but, if you haven’t, now is the time. I wouldn’t cut the grass too low just yet, take a third of the height off and that’s plenty. Edging the lawn gives a nice neat finish, so get the edging scissors oiled up and into action, or use a half moon edger, a spade or a strimmer.

“It’s also a good idea to feed the lawn now as it can look poor and hungry after autumn and winter and the lower temperatures and less light these seasons bring. A spring feed will bring it round again as the soil begins to warm up.

“Give your shrub beds and herbaceous borders a tidy now too, by raking up leaves and cutting away remnants of last years herbaceous plants such as lupins, astilbe, sedum, hostas and so on. Pull away the dead leaves and flower stalks and make way for new fresh shoots. Put all this waste in a compost bin, don’t waste it.

“These beds can be top dressed now too, if you have well rooted compost, use this or alternatively a compost such as a ‘rose, three and shrub’ compost. This will both feed your plants and give a nice rich dark brown surface to your beds.”

And for people who don’t have a garden, Cyril says: “If you want to grow something on the window, herbs is often the way to go. You can snip away at them as you’re cooking and that’s as fresh as you can get. You can keep it on the window until they get a bit woody, then you can throw it out or propagate it to make a new, smaller plant.”

Next week, Cyril will be talking all things roses. He will explain how to prune your rose bush and what this does for the plant, as well as some experimental ways to propagate the rose bush.